1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to instructional aids for learning proper athletic technique. More specifically, the present invention relates to a training device to help teach a basketball player proper shooting technique.
2. Prior Art
Proper basketball shooting techniques have been the subject of much research, with the heightened interest in high school, college and professional basketball. It has been determined that the proper way to shoot a basketball is for the shooter to hold his or her forearm perpendicular to the floor. The basketball is held on the fingertips in the shooting hand, and is balanced with the other hand, usually on the side of the ball. In launching the shot, the shooter raises the upper arm while keeping the forearm perpendicular to the floor. The hand is then rotated forwardly about the wrist, such that the ball rolls off of the fingertips and assumes a curved tracectory.
Most troublesome for many shooters is the proper rotation of the hand about the wrist during the shot. Proper wrist and hand "follow-through" is a key step in proper shooting technique. A device that would help a basketball shooter develop and master this technique would help a player improve his or her shooting.
One such device is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,905 issued Feb. 21, 1989 to Haub. The device of Haub comprises a wristband disposed on the shooting arm of a basketball shooter, proximate to the wrist. A tube extends forwardly from the wrist band, the tube being made of a flexible material. A solid feeler element is mounted perpendicularly on the flexible tube. The player attaches the wristband onto the shooting arm. The tube is then adjusted such that the feeler element is positioned to contact the shooter's hand when the shooter follows through with the hand about the wrist. The theory is that a shooter will attempt to follow through in order to contact the feeler element and develop consistent shooting habits.
The device of Haub, however, presents problems. Firstly, the flexible tube can be moved when contacted by the hand during the follow through. This may move the feeler element, causing the necessity of resetting the element or placing the feeler element in an unreachable position. Further, the device, in particular the tubing and feeler element, add weight to the front of the shooter's arm. This added weight must be compensated for by the shooter, which can throw off his shooting technique. Finally, unless a shooter uses a technique that requires the full rearward rotation of the hand about the wrist, a technique which many coaches do not recommend, the basketball may be interfered with by the feeler element. This could have a tendency to frustrate any training benefit which would otherwise be potentially offered by the device of Haub.
Other known basketball training devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,280,783 to Caveness, 4,377,284 to Okerlin, 4,383,685 to Bishop, and 4,579,341 to Furr.
While some basketball training aids are known and commercially available, most of the known devices known to Applicant are bulky and cumbersome. A need exists in the art for improved lightweight devices to help train basketball players in proper shooting technique, and particularly proper follow-through in shooting free throws. In particular, a device is needed which will not interfere in any way with the basketball, or with the normal freedom of motion of the shooter.